Marshall undefeated? Don’t bother CFP panel

That loud sound you heard around 4:05 p.m. Tuesday from Huntington, W.Va., was a shriek of joy from Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick.

That loud sound you heard at 4:05:01 was Hamrick hitting the floor.

Nothing changed at the top of the weekly College Football Playoff rankings — Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Mississippi State still would advance to the inaugural four-team tournament if the season ended today — but we have for the first time seen what the selection committee thinks of the best teams from nonpower conferences.

And it could have consequences from Huntington to Las Vegas and various spots in between.

Marshall made its initial appearance in the rankings at No. 24, an 11-0 team that ends its regular season against visiting Western Kentucky on Friday before playing in the Conference USA championship on Dec. 6.

But ranked ahead of the Thundering Herd at 23rd is a two-loss Boise State team from the Mountain West.

Why that matters: The highest ranked team from nonpower leagues in the final poll on Dec. 7 will gain an automatic berth into one of three playoff access bowls (Peach, Cotton or Fiesta), which comes with a payout that exceeds $17 million.

The Las Vegas Bowl also has the first selection from the Mountain West, which might now not include Boise State if the Broncos beat Utah State this week and then win the conference championship game.

Suddenly, a one-loss Colorado State seems more in play than ever to meet a Pac-12 opponent on Dec. 20 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

I have to believe Hamrick, the former UNLV athletic director, having eventually come around Tuesday from the smelling salts, wonders what more Marshall has to do.

Committee members are obviously not big fans of Conference USA, but undefeated at this time of year is undefeated. Boise State has losses to Mississippi (35-13) on a neutral field and at Air Force (28-14).

Marshall is ranked ahead of Boise State in The Associated Press poll, the USA Today coaches poll and the College Football Computer Composite Rankings.

It’s ranked ahead of the Broncos in everything except the only poll that matters.

“Boise State, we feel like their strength of schedule is far and away better and stronger than Marshall’s,” committee chairman Jeff Long said. “(Boise State) has got a number of teams they’ve beaten with .500 records or above. Marshall has two wins over teams with .500 records or above. Those are some of the factors.”

Get the smelling salts. Hamrick just passed out again.

A few weeks from now, the top of the rankings are sure to look different. Will a head-to-head result finally vault Baylor over Texas Christian? Will a weak resume from Mississippi State cost it a place in the top four? What happens to Ohio State if it wins out? Why does Nick Saban’s hair never move?

More importantly: Is the rumor true that ESPN, which already has Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway acting as “analysts” on the weekly selection shows, will now add Brutus Buckeye to its lineup to ensure that as much Ohio State homerism can take place in 30 minutes?

All compelling storylines to come.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 100.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.